Home economics
I saw a television ad yesterday. I’m generally a big fan of commercials. I think they’re the great art form of our time. This one was better than most, though, including the Super Bowl’s offerings this year.
A woman is preparing a sandwich for her two sons. Each, of course, doesn’t want the other’s half to be bigger than his own. The woman decides to avert disaster, handing the knife to one son and telling him, “you cut it.” Before he celebrates too much, she says to the other, “and you choose which piece.”
So does someone at the ad agency have a degree in mathematical economics? I particularly liked that the goal was to prevent jealousy, since I cut, you choose is only envy-free, not pareto-efficient.
